1. DB-13: Database Health Checks How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall Richard Shulman Principal Support Engineer

2. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation2 DB-13: Database Health Checks If this was about the song…  Outside the Wall (Waters) 1:42 All alone, or in two's, The ones who really love you Walk up and down outside the wall. Some hand in hand And some gathered together in bands. The bleeding hearts and artists Make their stand. And when they've given you their all Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall. “Isn't this where...."

3. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation3 DB-13: Database Health Checks Introduction  Introduction What is the “Wall”? Business interest in Enterprise Databases How OpenEdge® fits the bill  There are real life constraints  We call these constraints (The Walls) How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

4. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation4 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  What is the Wall?  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) Different kinds of Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

5. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation5 DB-13: Database Health Checks What is the “Wall”? The “Wall” is anything that can cause a database or application slowdown or outage for a reason which could have been proactively avoided. Image from www.havingasoftware.nl

6. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation6 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  What is the Wall?  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) Different kinds of Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

7. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation7 DB-13: Database Health Checks Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  What do you measure?  When should you measure?  Whose time is your money measured by (customer time or company time)?

8. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation8 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  What is the Wall?  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) Different kinds of Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

9. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation9 DB-13: Database Health Checks Pick a Metric (if you don’t like this one find a metric you like)  FURPS Functionality Usability Reliability Performance Supportability

10. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation10 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  What is the Wall?  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) Different kinds of Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

11. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation11 DB-13: Database Health Checks  2 billion recid limit - depends on how you slice and dice it  File system limits  Memory limits  User load  Inefficient code Constraints – AKA The Walls

12. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation12 DB-13: Database Health Checks How soon will you hit the 2 billion record limit -- depends on how you slice and dice it.  2 billion recids / 256 (records per block) = 8192000 blocks  2 billion recids / 4 (records per block) = 524288 blocks  2 billion recids / 1 (record per block) = 2 billion blocks  VST’s _areastatus._areastatus-rmnum I have seen the writing on the Wall

13. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation13 DB-13: Database Health Checks 2 Billion Record limit continued  Fragments use record slots too.  Small records + time + updates to records = larger records (maybe fragmented records)  Records > database blocksize = fragmented records Fragmentation is a Killer – AKA Another Brick in the Wall Part 1

14. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation14 DB-13: Database Health Checks 2 Billion Record limit continued  ( Blob or Clob) / 32K = # of recids used  Can use large numbers of recids quickly

15. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation15 DB-13: Database Health Checks File System  OS Support + File System Format + Progress EnableLargeFiles = Large File Support  If you share space with others will they play nice with you?  Only Enterprise license allows large file support  File Descriptors Another Brick in the Wall Part II

16. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation16 DB-13: Database Health Checks Memory  32-bit OS’s limit 32-bitly  64-bit OS’s don’t (but Progress picked an arbitrary limit)  More users = more memory either by client or by server Another Brick in the Wall Part III

17. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation17 DB-13: Database Health Checks User Load  More requests for data  More CPU load  More disks or different arrangement  More memory  More semaphores Another Brick in the Wall Part IV

18. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation18 DB-13: Database Health Checks Inefficient Code How easy is it to overwhelm your system with bad code? So easy it will make you cry. Any database (Progress or otherwise) can be overwhelmed with bad code.  More records  More disk and CPU time  More network bandwidth Another Brick in the Wall Part V

19. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation19 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  What is the Wall?  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) Different kinds of Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

20. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation20 DB-13: Database Health Checks What tools can help to see The Progress Wall? ToolFrequency  Prostrct statistics (monthly)  Prostrct list (as needed)  Proutil dbanalys (weekly)  statParse.p (monthly)  VST’s (program dictated)  Top  Your favorite OS tool Tools to help see the wall

21. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation21 DB-13: Database Health Checks Prostrct Statistics & Prostrct List  Prostrct Statistics To see high water mark of area  Prostrct List To see records per block To see area extent information Visible output is better than file output

22. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation22 DB-13: Database Health Checks Proutil dbanalys  Number of records  Mean Size of records  Scatter Factor  Fragment Factor  Number of Index blocks  Utilization of Index blocks

23. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation23 DB-13: Database Health Checks statParse.p  Per Area listing of highwater mark and maximum block number based on RPB  Notification if area is close to block limit based on high water mark

24. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation24 DB-13: Database Health Checks VST’s  _area and _areastatus VST can provide live monitoring of some of the important data related to Maximum size of each area  _areaextent can show the per file listing of size

25. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation25 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) What is the Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

26. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation26 DB-13: Database Health Checks What steps to take to avoid The Wall?  An ounce of prevention….  A pound of cure… Early versus Late - Which price do you want to pay?

27. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation27 DB-13: Database Health Checks If only I had….  Correct choice of records per block can: Improve performance Improve space utilization on disk Improve memory utilization in the buffer pool  Compaction of indices can save space  Proutil –C MvSch

28. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation28 DB-13: Database Health Checks Proper Planning Things to “Plan For”:  New user load  Batch job duration  Maintenance windows duration  Backup and Restore times No tool can totally replace proper planning! Avoiding the wall

29. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation29 DB-13: Database Health Checks Agenda  Business Focused Metrics If you can’t measure – you won’t improve  FURPS model for evaluation  We call these constraints (The Walls) What is the Wall? What tools can help to see The Wall? What steps to take to avoid The Wall? What else can you do with the data? How to tell if you’re heading for The Wall

30. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation30 DB-13: Database Health Checks What else can you do with the data?  Growth trending  Monitor high scatter per table  Monitor high fragmentation per table  When is a variable extent growing Preventing the foundation for the wall

31. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation31 DB-13: Database Health Checks Demonstration  Small demonstration of some Progress® scripts and code  Sample output generated by our Reports

32. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation32 DB-13: Database Health Checks Questions?

33. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation33 DB-13: Database Health Checks Where to find more information Progress Tech Support Solution Center Progress Technical Support

34. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation34 DB-13: Database Health Checks Thank you for your time

35. © 2006 Progress Software Corporation35 DB-13: Database Health Checks